Sports

Bulls in a big battle

Just four days ago the Belleville Bulls seemed headed for an OHL Eastern Conference championship.

Belleville enjoyed an eight-point lead on second place Brampton Battalion with just two weeks left in the regular schedule.

But a lot has happened the past few days and none of it was good for the Bulls.

The Bulls lost both weekend games, including a 4-1 home-ice decision to Brampton Saturday.

While the Bulls were losing twice, the Battalion cruised to three consecutive victories, outscoring the opposition 17-1.

Now what seemed like a comfortable eight-point lead just a few days ago, is a mere two points plus Brampton has a game in hand.

"It certainly was a disappointing weekend," said Bulls GM-coach George Burnett.

The veteran coach said he had a feeling things might not go as well as he hoped this weekend.

"Because of the way we practised I was a little concerned," said Burnett.

The Bulls lost 7-4 in Toronto against Mississauga Friday before dropping the 4-1 decision to Brampton.

The Bulls and Battalion were tied 1-1 going into the final period.

The Battalion were assessed four minor penalties in the final period but they outscored the Bulls 3-0.

"That may be the first time all year long we've given up three goals in the third period," said Burnett.

He wasn't pleased with the team power play which was blanked in nine opportunities.

"The power play has got to be better," he said. "But two or three times we were on the power play and we took a penalty. Brampton was just much better than us in the third period."

Stephon Thome broke the 1-1 tie when he beat Belleville goalie Mike Murphy with a rebound from the face-off circle at 5:45. Just over a minute later, Anthony Peluso made it 3-1 with a hard shot from 20-feet out.

Consecutive Belleville power plays failed to cut into the Battalion lead then Cody Hodgson iced the game with a goal at 16:20.

Belleville's lone goal came at 11:59 of the opening period to tie the game 1-1.

Brandon Mashinter carried the puck from the corner into the face-off circle then beat Thomas McCollum with a shot as Luke Pither skated in front to provide a screen. It was Mashinter's 30th goal of the season.

"We made mistakes we don't usually make. And a team like Brampton will take advantage of those mistakes," said Burnett.

Burnett said winning the conference would be great but "right now the priority is to play better and being prepared for the playoffs."

He said the team hasn't played well since a 3-2 victory in Brampton eight days ago.

"We've just got to play better. Even Wednesday (a 6-2 win over Oshawa) we were only OK," he said.

The fact the Bulls have been playing with just five defense-men hasn't helped their situation. Both Marc Cantin (groin) and Rob Stellick (ankle) missed the last three games with injuries.

"We clearly miss Cantin's experience and strong steady play out there. It puts more stress on the other guys who have to play more minutes. Hopefully we'll have Cantin and Stellick back soon."

Burnett said Cantin remains day-to-day and probably could have played if it were the playoffs.

"We have almost a week off before our next game (Friday in Oshawa) and that will give him a chance to get to 100 per cent," said Burnett.

Burnett said he expects to see a better Belleville team at practice this week.

"We haven't had a week off for practice since December. We need a great week of practice and some good fitness work. We expect a lot more of ourselves," said Burnett.

The Bulls won't be facing any league powerhouses in their final five regular season games but Burnett doesn't expect an easy finish.

"We're playing against teams that are hungry, some that haven't clinched a playoff spot (Sudbury twice plus Oshawa and Peterborough). These teams are going to be ready to play," said Burnett.

NOTES -The Bulls, who had allowed an average of just over two goals per game prior to the weekend, allowed 11 goals in two losses...Pither and Nick Pageau assisted on Mashinter's goal...Belleville allowed just five shots in the second period Saturday...The Battalion was 0-5 on the power play... The Bulls are 42-17-2-2 while the Battalion are 43-18-1-1...Despite a rare 0-2 weekend, the Bulls clinched the East Division title when Ottawa lost 5-3 to Niagara Sunday...The Bulls have two regular season home games remaining (Sudbury and Peterborough) plus three on the road (Oshawa, Sudbury, Barrie).